6 States To Ramp Up Building Efficiency Through Governors’ Association

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Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin will be launching action plans to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings through a collaboration with the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center).

An initiative such as this is significant as currently buildings in the U.S. account for 70 percent of national energy consumption and about a third of America’s greenhouse gas emissions. The six states were selected by the NGA Center to participate in its Policy Academy on State Building Efficiency Retrofit Programs, which will help states develop initial tools and eventually the foundation for expanding into large-scale building retrofit programs. The Academy will assist the states with funding and financing options, measuring energy use, education and outreach programs and workforce training.

The building retrofit programs will focus on upgrading or replacing heating or hot water systems, insulation and air sealing, window replacement, lighting upgrades, ENERGY STAR appliances, solar power and energy management system installation.

The Academy is comprised of NGA Center staff, experts, consultants, research groups, academia and the federal government. The Academy is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, which has allocated $11 billion under the Recovery Act to retrofit and weatherize buildings as well as additional funding for new technologies relating to energy efficiency and renewable energy.

"Most energy efficiency efforts have focused on new construction or the low-income sector only, often ignoring the substantial energy savings available by retrofitting existing buildings," said John Thomasian, director of the NGA Center. "This Policy Academy will help states realize energy savings across the board, through comprehensive building retrofits programs."